This project was completed by some regular readers from Seattle: "In March 2010, I came upon the ever-popular Penny Tile floor post on your site. At the time, we were in the process of renovating our 1950s rambler and I was unsuccessful in finding a contractor to complete a concrete overlay (thin-set concrete) design on our master bathroom floor. A standard flooring option just wasn't what we were envisioning for this space…"

A floor tiled with pennies was perfect…well, almost. We were building a very modern home in Seattle and the overall color theme was grey and white — copper just didn't seem to integrate well into our design scheme. But nickels did! So, 13,650 nickels later — that's $682.50 — and 30 straight days of gluing the coins to mesh, we have a nickel-tiled master bathroom floor.

Step by Step

Using packing tape, tape the circle template to a piece of cardboard to create a sturdy, temporary support for the weight of the nickels.

Cut 1 foot squares from the mesh — my squares were actually 12¼" x 12¼" allowing for 195 nickels per tile — and adhere the square of mesh to the template taped to the cardboard.

Using the Weldbond Glue, attach the individual nickels to the mesh — which is adhered to the template that is supported by the cardboard.

Each square accommodates 195 nickels or $9.75

To prepare for installation, remove the cardboard, tape, template and use a sharp knife to cut any excess mesh away from the nickels.

Install like tile

Apartment Therapy readers are fantastic, open-minded, extremely creative home designers. In my experiences in reading daily posts on the site, I've really come to realize that great design can be found anywhere and with any/all materials. We wanted to share these images as a little thank you for all of the inspiration the online community offered our family during our renovation.